from an ezine I read:
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Our policymakers will follow the example of the Japanese, because it is the only model they can reasonably be expected to follow. And, as in Japan, the policies used will ease the pain a little but will certainly not cure the disease. Americans, long scolded by the rest of the world as being spendthrifts, will suddenly start to resemble their Asian counterparts in their saving habits. Consumer spending will drop, and the economy will scratch and claw frantically just to avoid falling into the abyss of deflation, the likes of which haven't been seen on American shores since the 1930s.
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So, we have to prepare for the Great Depression Version Two Point Oh! Interesting since we have exemplars of what happens when politicians run their countries off the economic road. If they inflate their fiat currency too much, hyperinflation a la Germany in the 1920s. If they inflate it too little, they miss an opportunity to profit from their counterfeiting. If they don't inflate, then they get deflation a la the 29 Crash which was caused by the Smoot Hawley tariffs. If they have the pension ponzi, then the old folks WILL be eating dogfood. And, if anyone gets wise to the crisis, a la the Japanese people and shift from spend to save, the economy goes in the dumpster.
My response: cutback on spending, save, avoid extravegence, invest, and horde.
Reinke Faces Life 